Marketing plans are shifting 

With technology pushing us further into the future every day, you may be questioning whether or not your current marketing strategies are worth the time of day. And while it is true that new tools coming out are often more effective in reaching your customers, some of the old tools will never go out of style. Here are 3 marketing tools you shouldn’t plan to give up on anytime soon.

1. Email Marketing

With text being such a prevalent source of communication these days, it seems almost as if email is becoming less valuable. Even businesses are using more texting to communicate around the office than ever before. However, email can still be just as valuable as ever before. Here are some reasons why:

• Mobile makes it easier than ever to stay connected to your email
• Deals through emails affect a customer’s shopping decisions
• Everyone still checks their email every day, even if they don’t have mobile alerts set up
• Modern marketing requires a variety of ways to stay in touch with customers

2. Text Marketing

If you thought text marketing was ever going out of style, you were mistaken. SMS remains one of the most common and fastest forms of communication, even with all the new technology being added. Add to that the fact that companies are incorporating easy texting capabilities into smartphones and personal assistants, and you can be sure it isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

Just think, how easy will it be in the future for a customer to contact you via text if all they have to do is ask their personal assistant to send your business a text? They won’t even have to pick up their phone, and they can get immediate answers to their questions.

3. Billboards

While print advertising seems to be going out of style, the truth is that people still drive to work every day past a ton of billboards. With mobile-free laws being put in place, drivers have nothing better to do on their drives than look at the billboards on their way into the office and back home again. By placing a billboard in the right place, you can get a ton of coverage and really increase your number of customers.

It is also a good way to get current customers into your shop. It is a call to action reminding them you are there and you have something they want. For example, you could get customers in for lunch that day simply because they saw your billboard on their way to work and decided they wanted it for lunch.

There are even electronic billboards you can use where you can pay to have your ad shown at specific times of day or for a certain length of time. Check it out and see what is available in your area.

Diversify your marketing

Just remember, reaching your customers these days is not about putting all your eggs in one basket. No one form of marketing is going to be your saving grace. You need to diversify and use different forms of marketing if you want to have a maximum impact and reach the most customers. Whether marketing to current or new customers, being in multiple places will help make sure you are head of the competition.